Internal linking · Internal links
Internal linking is the network of links between pages of the same site. It structures the understanding of relationships between concepts, for search engines and AI retrieval systems alike, and distributes internal authority to strategic pages.
Standalone definition · 36 words
How does internal linking work?
Bots discover pages by following links. Anchors describe the subject of the target page, and click depth influences crawl frequency. A page with no internal link is an orphan page, hard to discover.
Which linking rules should you apply?
Link from the main content with descriptive anchors, connect each satellite page to its pillar, place links to business pages in content that receives authority, avoid generic anchors, limit the depth of important pages and audit broken or redirected links.
Internal linking and GEO
In a query fan-out logic, linking that connects the angles of a subject helps cover sub-queries and clarifies relationships between entities. Links must be present in the initial HTML: a menu injected with JavaScript may escape crawlers without rendering.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links per page?
There is no official number. Favor relevance over quantity.
Do menu links count?
Yes, but contextual links carry a more precise signal.
Can a menu change break the linking?
Yes, especially if links disappear from the initial HTML.
Related terms
Further reading
- Checklist GEO and LLM / AI 2026
- 2026 GEO Tools Comparison: The Decision Guide
- ← Back to the GEO glossary (114 terms)